Oh Mercy
| Bob Dylan
Oh Mercy
Oh Mercy is the 26th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 18, 1989 by Columbia Records. Produced by Daniel Lanois, it was hailed by critics as a triumph for Dylan, after a string of poorly reviewed albums. Oh Mercy gave Dylan his best chart showing in years, reaching No. 30 on the Billboard charts in the United States and No. 6 in the UK.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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Rolling Stone
September 21, 1989. Now, in the summit of love of the past, the Stones and Dylan have weighed in with albums that signal renewed conviction and reactivated sense of purpose. . . while Oh Mercy explores moral concerns and matters of the heart with a depth and seriousness Dylan has not demonstrated since Desire. Deep-sixing nostalgia, the Stones and Dylan have made vital albums of, for and about their time.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
September 18, 2015. Another comeback album, 'Oh Mercy' arrived at the end of a particularly tough decade for Dylan, who spent most of the '80s releasing forgettable albums that nobody wanted to hear. And compared to most of his records from that time, 'Oh Mercy' marks a triumphant return.
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All Music
So, Oh Mercy is finally more interesting for what it tries to achieve than for what it actually does achieve. At its best, this is a collection of small, shining moments, with the best songs shining brighter than their production or the album's overall effect.
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Something Else Reviews
September 18, 2015. This was the album in which Bob Dylan gave in to everything that had happened to his voice, when he finally started sounding old. He also gave in to the atmospheric process that producer Daniel Lanois established, creating a late-period classic.
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The Guardian
May 23, 2004. It was Dylan's first truly great album for several years, following some pretty dreadful efforts such as Down In The Groove .
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SC Times
February 5, 2016. With "Oh Mercy," Bob Dylan left behind a series of uneven albums and produced a record that was one great song after another. The 1989 release stood as a herald for more greatness to come
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Blog Critics
October 8, 2008. Oh Mercy would be his first album in a number of years to contain all original compositions. The reception for this album was positive as it was his most accessible and intimate album in years.
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Countdown Kid
July 8, 2013. This was more like it. 1989’s Oh Mercy was rightly praised upon its release and has held up well over time; if anything, the songs sound even better now.
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itunes Apple Music
This 1989 album benefited greatly from producer Daniel Lanois’ swamped-up and cinematic New Orleans groove. From the stuttering opening chords of “Political World” to the noirish slow-burn “Man in the Long Black Coat,” it’s also obvious that Bob Dylan’s updated sound dovetailed with fresh songwriting inspiration.
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Paste Magazine
September 12, 2012. Oh Mercy saw the re-emergence of Dylan as a darling among critics in the late ‘80s, although that might not have been the case without producer Daniel Lanois, best known for his work on U2’s The Joshua Tree.
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The Current
September 11, 2017. There are people who don’t agree that Oh Mercy is Bob Dylan’s best album of the ’80s, and those people are crazy. This is the most coherent, absorbing, moving new body of work Dylan had released since at least Desire, maybe even since Blood on the Tracks.
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Consequence of Sound
March 21, 2017. Oh Mercy brings more to the table than simply not being its predecessor, Down in the Groove, or its follow-up, Under the Red Sky, . . . . To Dylan, this batch of songs, even if flawed, signified the first time in a long while that he felt himself compelled to write new material — “chasing songs,” as he puts it.
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Peace Theology
This is the best of the post-Blood on the Tracks career of Dylan in my humble opinion. “Ring Them Bells” is a great anthem, but the album is filled with other fine songs as well (e.g., “Political World,” “Most of the Time,” “Shooting Star”)—and Dylan is in excellent voice.
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Classic Rock Mag
September 18, 2014. Although the previous process was difficult, the press is full of praise. Lanois has produced an excellent album - partly due to the absence of synthesizers and Dylan's lower voice. Dylan is back on the road with Oh Mercy, although it will take another six years before he will finally return to the general public
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Robert Christgau
His seventh studio job of the decade is the third he didn't just churn out and thus the third to get hyped as a turnaround, but really, there is a difference.
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Warehouse Eyes
It is probably fair to say that "Oh Mercy," released in September 1989, was a welcome return to form for Bob Dylan after two poor studio albums (1986's "Knocked Out Loaded" and 1988's "Down In The Groove") and a dreadful live album (1989's "Dylan And The Dead"). This was due in no small part to the efforts of Daniel Lanois who was determined to force one good album out of Dylan before the eighties closed, . . . .
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